Probably the last of Shran McCain we'll ever see. Sniff!

Okay, again, I have to open this early because I'm not going to be around a computer for the rest of the night. Don't post before episode is over blah, blah, pain-of-death-cakes.

Nooo, don't go, Shran! Please, don't go! We love you!

I loved his little romance with Jhamel, but the man sure loves opposites, doesn't he? If anyone could be the counterpart to Talus, it's her.

The one part I really didn't like was when the first drone ship showed up and they couldn't tell if it was a drone or not. I remember thinking, "But last week, you could tell by the power signiture!" And then the second drone ship, they could tell... The hell is up with that?

I'm ambiguous about Trip leaving. We still have several episodes to go and the cast is already breaking up? Meh.

Please, can't we keep Shran? I like the show so much better with him.

I really liked this! One nitpick -- when the first drone appeared, disguised as the Tellatite freighter, how come they didn't check its warp signature? Then they would have known for sure it was a drone. A few minutes later, that's exactly what they did with the secind drone. Either the writers had a brain fart, or they were going for artificial drama. Either way, bad.

I'm convinced the backdrop on Andoria was some artist's visualization of the view from Saturn's moon, Titan. It was in the news a lot recently because the Cassini spacecraft landed (or sent a probe that landed).

Why do Aenars wear gauze? It seemed a strange choice to me.

Overall, a kick-ass episode, I thought!

I HATED that UPN is using the cancellation as a promo point. "These are the Final Episodes" -- Gah!

Also strange was the orange eyeshadow. I kept thinking it was regular human actor skin poking through and it distracted me.

I liked the Andoria sets, though. I wondered how the Aenar stayed hidden for so long and so well as to be thought of as a myth by the blueskins. It'd be like stumbling across a tribe of Yetis and finding out they have high tech hospitals. And gauze ponchos.

I really, really enjoyed this episode...so much to love:

* The first scene between Shran and Jhamel...it was quiet, well acted...and, I confess, sweet. But mysticowl, I actually looked at the interaction as more of a father / daughter relationship. Did anyone else get the same vibe?

* Shran uttering the line "that explains a lot". Hee.

* When Shran and Archer first beamed to the surface, I loved the little acting touch Bakula made in immediately covering his face with his gloves. As someone who (barely) tolerates the harsh midwest winter, I do the exact same thing when making a mad dash for the car.

* The fact they didn't rescue Galeb (sp?). And the direction / camera angles of the interaction between Galeb and Jhamel had kind of an "old school, TOS" feel to it.

* The end scene between Trip and Archer...you could feel the emotions under the surface. Well played.


The not so good:

* The UPN Promo Monkeys can kiss my ass. Pour a little more lemon juice into the wound, huh? Bastards.

* My local UPN station kept cutting back to the episode late. Dudes, buy a stopwatch or something.

Were those Boblbee backpacks on Shran and Archer? I had one when I lived in Germany in 2001. It's nice to see people of the future are interesting in antiques:)

I thought the episoide was good on it's own merits but we didn't really need a third part of the arc. I felt that the Aenar pilot plot twist was stupid and wasn't nearly as good as the one in the first episode of the arc. They made up the Aenar(unless they already exist and I just don't know about it) for no apperant reason and then it didn't really serve any purpose at all. The only thing that was good about it was that they completely fooled me into thinking it would be T'Pol facing off against Galeb.

However I thought the episode had some good character interaction. Shran and the Aenar chick had good chemistry and I thought the final scene between Arcer and Trip was really good as well, one of Archers best scenes. That came out of left field as well, I wasn't expecting Trip to leave. So was this planned before it was cancelled? Or did they just decide to do it to give the final shows more drama. Shran was good like always and its sad to see him go, I hope they somehow squeeze him in the finale or something.

I didn't like that they showed nothing more of the Alliance, they better not drop that for the rest of the show.

Question, why was the Romulan scientist so concerned about the Aenar? Was there something going on there?

Noooo. They better bring Shran back for the finale, or I will kick their collective ass. I got misty when he and Archer were talking about "future voyages."

Other than that, I love that TPTB gaves us three episodes chock full o' Shranny goodness. He was so stubborn and grouchy and Shran-like with the Aenar and Archer, and then so tender with Jhamel. Awww. And also such a badass with the ice stalagmite.

I'm less than wowed with the Trip/T'Pol plot; you know the transfer's not gonna end up being permanent, and it's not in Trip's nature to run away from things. But while the story wasn't as good as the rest, the Trip/Phlox scene and the last scene between Archer and Trip were examples of how Connor Trinneer always manages to rise above the material. Archer kept missing the point , but you could see in CT's eyes and posture how at the end of his emotional rope he was. He loves T'Pol, he loves Enterprise, and he knows that he won't do either of them any favors the way he is now. All of that in the acting.

*first shot of Aenar City comes on screen*
Me: "Oh wow, it's Lothlorien!"

Though we only knew Jhamel and Gareb for one episode, that last scene was very sweet. Luke and Leia-ish...

Good episode....good trilogy in general...

Well, it's pretty close to Chesley Bonestell, but not quite:

http://www.bonestell.org/spaceart.html

I thought they were going to go another direction with Gareb. When Jhamel said the telepresence machine was "strangely enjoyable" I thought it was going to turn out to be addictive or something. So I thought maybe Gareb couldn't help himself after they hooked him up to it the first time. But then he says he thought all the Aenar were dead... because the Romulans told him so? Did he not read their minds? Or was he too polite to do it?

The Aenars' passivity against aggressors is the flaw in their society. Much like why we liberals can't get one of our own elected.

It might just be early nostalgia kicking in, but I thought this was another pretty good episode. Shran was great, in every scene. I also hope he'll be back for the finale. I thought the visit to the Aenar place was pretty neat - nice, relatively detailed touches like the ice worm swarm and some of the backstory on their history. And the talks between Shran and Jhamel, particularly about visiting the warm planets were nice touches too.

I very much liked T'Pol's line about whatever technical thing she was thinking when she didn't think they would survive that thing in the Expanse (can't remember what it's called) - poor Trip!

Found Archer unusually non-annoying this episode. Much be more early nostalgia.

Eh, it was ok I suppose. So what has finally happened that made Trip decide to leave? Did I miss something? It's been unrequited love since the wedding, he suddenly can't deal?

I love Shran's grouchy snarkiness! Hee.

The guy that played the brother, his voice sounded familiar. Like from a cartoon or something. Hmm.

Good arc overall. ITA with the other posters upthread with regards to not detecting the warp signature of the 1st ship.

If CT is really leaving, could you blame him? Hey, at least Hoshi and May-I-Have-Some-Lines-Please might get more screen time. Probably not.

Maybe he's just been able to put off dealing with it until now, like with Lizzie. (That seems to be his emotional MO.) For most of the time, he's in Engineering, she's on the bridge. This time, his feelings for her almost interfered with the testing of the machine, which could have scuttled the mission. Perhaps he's realized that there will be more times like that, and he thinks he can't deal with them, can't let his judgement override his heart.. Like Picard and the woman in Lessons. Poor Trip... he sounded so tormented. :(

I don't think CT is leaving the show though. For once, I actually haven't read the spoilers, but I bet this is just a tactic to amp up the tension, and he'll be back.

Oh, but I don't think he did at all. He knew exactly what was driving Trip's decision, and gave him several chances to put it out there. When Trip said, "I've said all I wanna say," then Archer knew that Trip wasn't going to say it out loud (which I think is very classy of Trip...or "gentlemanly," as Amanda Cole might have put it). I think that's why when Trip asked Archer for the transfer "as a friend," Archer agreed. If he really didn't know why Trip was asking, his asshattedness wouldn't have let him drop the subject.

I think it's a very safe bet Shran will be back for the finale -- he's gotta ride into the sunset with his pink-skin lovah. I too picked up on a father-daughter dynamic between him and Jhamel, and I thought it gave a very nice contrast to the normally bombastic guy we've come to know and love. Look at that -- a multi-dimensional character!

By my count, we heard May-who's voice once, and saw Hoshi's face once. Sigh.

I really hate that the show finally gets interesting and now it has to go. It took to long to get here. I really liked Shran and Jhamel. Trip was breaking my heart though with his wanting to leave.

I am so with the Shran love! They did so well in writing that character, and I am very happy to see Jeff Combs finally playing a sympathetic role in the ST universe.

I'm so glad that they got this arc in before concluding the series!

I thought it was a decent episode, but not great. I think my expectations were set wrong, though. This was more of a quiet epilogue to the previous 2-part arc than the important resolution of a 3-part arc. Andoria's the tiny moon of a gas giant? Okay. I guess there's no reason it can't be, but I'd never heard it implied before.

After Shran impaled himself, did anyone else say, "Quick, put some ice on it! Oh..."
I think it was equal parts basic concern for humanoid life (he did say he was a scientist and not a soldier), as well as concern that if they killed the Aenar, the drone experiment would end.
I hope not. But how great would it be if they actually give Trip a multi-episode story arc serving on another ship? That's nearly unprecedented on Trek, with the sole exception of the arc where the Dominion took over DS9. I'm seriously excited to see that, and I hope they don't back out of it before it happens.

Can we kill the UPN Promo Monkeys and plead self-defense? WTF was that "last episodes" crapola? Gee, UPN, thanks for reminding us Enterprise has been canceled; it's probably been...oh, 30 seconds or so since we last THOUGHT ABOUT IT!

Much Shran love, too. "That explains a lot" was a definite LOL moment, and I got more a father/daughter vibe from Shran and Jhamel than lovers. Hope TPTB bring him and Soval both back a few more times before the series ends.

Sandefjord, think you're spot-on Archer knew *exactly* why Trip wanted a transfer but wanted him to say it; when he didn't, Archer let it go. The writers actualy gave Bakula a couple chances to act in this one, and he didn't disappoint. MO, of course; YMMV (and I realize for most of you it will).

Someone mentioned Gareb's voice sounded familiar; did anyone else think the head Aenar looked/sounded familiar? Sort of like with Luke/Val-dor-EE; I know her from somewhere, I just can't place her.

<sigh> If only Bermaga had written interesting stories and multilayered characters two seasons ago...

I thought the arc was great, but this was the weakest of the 3


and where did that big ass fleet they had at the end of United go?

they all show up to make a sensor grid, they chase around the ship? then once Enterprise decides to go get them they all just say 'ciao we gotta go'


but all in all it was good, yet so bittersweet as you know you are watching the 'end'

It seemed out of place in a trilogy arc even though it tied in well. While not as fast paced as the previous two, it moved along well and dispensed much information without being too boring. But, it seemed anti-climactic.

And, no, cleo you weren't the only one thinking about putting ice on Shran's leg wound.

I was a little surprised about Trip's request for a transfer, though the idea that the close proximity with this mission certainly makes sense. And I agree with those that said Archer knows, he just wasn't going to come right out and say it. Wow, the writers actually made him nice about it.

Must add my love for Shran. I didn't get the romantic vibe either. I wouldn't describe it as father/daughter; maybe big brother/little sister. He's seen the big wide world (universe?) and she's been secluded. He felt protective, but knew she had to do it for herself. Sniff, bye Shran. Hopefully we'll see you soon. You make Archer almost likable.

I really liked this one. They managed to make the three Aenar characters interesting and multi-layered within one episode, something they haven't managed with poor Mayweather the entire series.

I love Shran and I just loved his interactions with Jhamel. Was she somebody? I kept thinking of DS9's Ziyal (one of them, anyway).

Did anyone else notice the strange camera angle when Shran first impaled his leg? I was appalled by my own 12-year old mind, but for a second it didn't look like the protruding blue stalagmite was sticking out of his leg.

nqllisi I thought the blue stalagmite in Shran's leg looked like something from the Ann Summers catalog.

It was a good arc with a nice conclusion overall but I'd like to pretend this was a pilot for It's Shran! next fall.

I didn't like this ep at all. It was 59 minutes, 30 seconds of padding with only 30 seconds that actually mattered - Trip's transfer. This ep didn't need to happen, AT ALL.

At least Andoria and the Andorian sets looked cool.

OMG, so did I. I don't know why, I just did.

They must bring Shran back for the finale. TPTB must know he's a favorite, after all, they did just do a three part arc that was quite Shran-erific.

The scene with Jhamel and her brother did seem very TOS to me too. I think it was the weird colors on their faces that made me think of it.

That UPN promo made me mad too. Seems like they were trying to make us mad.

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Trip isn't being emotionally immature, he's being emotionally MATURE. He is resigned to never being with T' Pol, and he's self-aware enough to realize it may impact his work, so he does the honorable thing and asks for a transfer.

That was expected (in a good character arc way) and unexpected (this is Enterprise, after all). Still, it won't happen with only a handful of eps left. (Thank goodness--I wouldn't watch this show without him).

I'd like to get mad with you, but on the Canadian feed, we don't get promos for next week's show. Canadian TV sucks for that.

Would someone be so kind, as to fill me in? Thanks.

I agree. This would be the best thing to do (in real life). There are plenty of opporunities out there, maybe even a chance at advancement? But, I also agree that I wouldn't watch at all if he actually left the ship/show.

This week, "Sex With Sue" is being pre-empted by "Sex With Andorians"

Gordie: "So, Mabel, cold enough for you?"

Mabel: "Well, geez, at least it's a dry cold."

They could've retitled this episode "The Softer Side of Shran", since it was (IMHO) all about Shran still dealing with the loss of his wo-man. Those sets were sorta cool, although it was hard to tell if we were looking at Andoria or Krypton. Trip's leaving? So what?

I thought all of his scenes were very well done - all the bubbling under the surface. Wow - by the end I was on the edge of my seat and thinking once again "why did I have to go get hopelessly hooked when the show is about to end" :(

But I just have to add that the whole "I really thought I wuz gonna die" heart to pointy ears conversation would have been a bit more heart string tugging if he hadn't already died in this series more times than Daniel Jackson.

HI I'm new to the board, here's what I think

It was a really good one, I think the last scene was the best scene between Trip and Archer in a long time... Also although not the best exchange between T'pol and Trip it was a good one. I have a really good feeling that Trip will be back
[QUOTE] Trip isn't being emotionally immature, he's being emotionally MATURE. He is resigned to never being with T' Pol, and he's self-aware enough to realize it may impact his work, so he does the honorable thing and asks for a transfer.[quote]

Exactly... I couldn't expalin it better myself

elctigers, welcome to the board. We always enjoy hearing from new members!

FYI: spoilers don't belong in this thread; you might want to go back and edit yours out. There is a separate thread for spoilers.

I've really liked this whole arc, and I reeeeally enjoyed this episode. I mean, surprise -- I'm a pretty obsessive J. Combs fangirl. But ... no, I just really liked it. :D It was good TV and full of squee and I adore Shran madly and I want to own it on DVD now. Yeah.

Reaction at the Field's home while watching the show-

Me : Hey, where's Porthos?, I love Porthos. I know since they cancelled this show why not the "Shran and Porthos show....with a little bit of Trip on the side. I would totally watch that"

Mr. Field's "Don't worry about the leg Shran - it's ice, let it melt"
Me & Mr. Field's : "Who did Yosi piss off? Her big contribution - shaking her head"

Me: "Great, now that T'Pol is no longer a crackwhore they're going to make her a retard?"

Me again "first they cancel the show and they are taking away my Trip? Whatever!"

So sad to think this might be the last we see of Shran. After last night I was really wishing he was part of the cast instead of a reoccurring character.

I thought that the interaction between Shran and the Aenar girl was well done. Added a bit of tenderness (yes, we saw that with Talas but the very contrived death ruined it for me) to give him more depth.

Glad that there was time this season to go to Andor. I liked the sets. The Aenars were interesting although for a blind race they had alot of lighting in their city. Wish there was more time to delve into the Andorian culture and homeworld. Oh well.

Wow, I was bored. I did my nails all the way through, and y'all, doing my nails takes most of my attention. I didn't seem to be missing much, either.

There were some things I liked. I thought the Aenar were simply beautiful, from a makeup and costuming standpoint. Thought the gauze really made the ethereal look. The worms ... what a thoroughly lovely tiny little science fiction touch. They took up no more than a few seconds screen time, but really made Andoria feel alien and interesting.

Shran's injury and macho removal of the offending stalagmite made me shudder violently. Oh man, that was bad. Ye Gods, impalement.

I was quite pleased that Trip called Phlox on his Neuroporn pimping last year.

Other than that, let's see, the Romulans ... gah, everytime they flashed to them bored me more.

One of Blalock's acting choices bugged me -- when Trip passed her in the corridor, and didn't answer her the first time, I can think of several other ways she could have called out his name. She chose a pissy, demanding way. If I were Trip, I probably would have answered sharply. It took me out of the scene.

And yeah, the schmaltzy "Enterprise last episodes" promos really pissed me off too.

Oh, and Trip's leaving? He may be leaving Enterprise, but I don't believe for a minute that he's leaving Enterprise. I'm with Cleo, I think we're going to see him on the Columbia for a while. I like the idea, but it just means a lot less Trip & Mal scenes in the short time we have left, and I really enjoy their friendship.

What about the fact that they used a HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTION of the top Aenar. Why would a society of blind people need to rely on such a visual medium? Some kind of hi-res radio would seem more likely.

I did like the glimpse of Andorian society though, but it seems that the Aenar are more numerous and more advanced than the folk Shran dismisses as a "sub species." But whether they be blueskins or paleskins, the Andorians sure are a hot-blooded folk.

I thought this was a great episode. This arc was my favorite of the season. I like the fact that they didn't try to end it with a big bang and instead just found a unique way to conclude the story. I felt the last scene between the two Aenars was like something out of an anime.

I didn't expect the Valdore to shoot the guy point-blank in the neck. I liked the actress that played Jhamel. She did this wispy thing to her voice that made her look more alien. I think the Aenar and their environment was the best aliens Enterprise has done since...well the Andorians! They were interesting, not just people with foreheads.

The Shran/Jhamel scenes were great. It's nice to see this show not go over the top for once. I also liked Trip's surprise. I'm just waiting for the big cop-out, but it would be cool to see a few episodes have B stories of Trip's adventures aboard Columbia.

Quantum's is still an asshat.
T'POL: Jhamel is seriously injured by the machine.
CQ: We went all the way to Andoria...for nothing.

Asshat moment number two is him trying to trump Trip's Friendship Card with his own in order to get him to stay.

P.S. Don't give up on Travis, writers!

Trip made a nice progression in this episode from wimpering, "It doesn't seem fair" about the drone ships being piloted remotely, to "I'm a little better at stickin' stuff together" to his gentleman's honor at the end.

"Hands off pinkskin."
"That explains a lot."
"Let's just see what the future brings."
-Why can't they write this well other than for Shran?

Ah, wait, they can:
Phlox: "That's one ailment that is universally untreatable. You'll have to suffer through it."

I fanwank that the console serves to boost their telepathic range so they can communicate with the ship instantaneously across lightyears. If the pilot were just pushing buttons on a console on a planet far away, with signals being sent to the ship by subspace radio, there would be a big time-lag, and the ship would never be able to react fast enough to be good in a battle. Whereas telepathically distance makes no difference, and the pilot could react as fast as thought.

The fact that I dedicated this much thought to fanwank shows that I really kind of liked this episode.

.

I'm almost certain that it's canon that subspace radio, though fast, is not instantaneous. Of course, I haven't the first idea where to look this information up, but I'm still pretty sure I've heard it somewhere.

Seems like in TOS they had delays in communicating over long distances (Kirk would sit down and watch a secure message from Earth), but in TNG they definitely talked real-time over distances of many, many LY. Anyone have the solid background on this?

The UPN Promo Monkeys decided that it would be a really neat thing to use the cancellation as a selling point to watch the show! Don't remember the exact wording, but they started next week's preview with a line like "These are the final voyages" or some such. Yeah, thanks UPN; way to rub that proverbial salt.

I have a problem with the fact that UPN is using the cancellation as a selling point. However, I have absolutely no problem with them reminding us of the cancellation. It's only a reminder for those of us on the internet who already know the news. If you're the type of person who doesn't read internet sites about shows and doesn't read or watch entertainment media (which is me (except for TWoP) and most of the real life people I know) this would be the first time you'd heard about the show being cancelled.

As to the episode itself. I'm disappointed they took time exploring Aenar instead of Andorians on Andoria. But I was interested in the Aenar and enjoyed learning about them.

Me three.

I liked Shran's and Jhamal's scenes, but did get a romantic vibe off them based on what little we saw. Yet if we had the chance to see more in the future, I would buy a familial vibe if that's what was portrayed.

I loved Trip calling Phlox on the neural node nudging.

I was stunned by Trip's resignation actually being accepted. But I don't think that Trip is gone from the show, regardless of if he's gone from the ship. However, even if he is gone from the show, I can't get too worked up about it since the show's been cancelled. If Trinneer left the show and it continued on to a 5th season, then I'd be upset.

All in all, not much important happened in this episode. I was rather bored for the first half. Everything really interesting and exciting seemed to happen in the last half hour. The Romulans were boring. We didn't learn anything new about them.